| When we last left John Corda, in the guise of drum 'n' | | | | coolest noir romance. The relentless, ecstatic drum |
| bass superhero Mashed Buddha, on his full-length CD | | | | beat undergirds soulful piano, skittering synth sounds, |
| subdue your mind, he was adding elements, musical | | | | and deep bass that rumbles with syncopation like dub |
| elements, to a genre that doesn't go much past | | | | reggae on ecstasy. The break down adds the |
| mechanical repetition in rhythm and bleating electro | | | | earthiness of Afro-Cuban drums and percussion and |
| sounds for tunes. To this, he added ideas such as | | | | Latin piano loops that evoke noir mystery. The song's |
| composing songs - with themes that are developed, | | | | elements mix, match, swoop down and buildup to |
| different levels of sound density, build ups and break | | | | unexpected plateaus of resolution. Like his preview EP |
| downs - and adding elements of funk, rare groove, | | | | Four Keys to Zen, this record brings in the element of |
| and heavy bass. Mashed Buddha conceives of his | | | | jazz improvisation. Corda plays a solo that jazzes out |
| songs and his entire records in compositional terms. In | | | | but in the soul/blues styles of Ramsey Lewis or Stevie |
| other words, on Zen Conspiracy he keeps things | | | | Wonder. This organic, earthbound element offers a |
| moving like in any good story. | | | | nice contrast to the electronica, pumping more blood |
| The title track has a stately intro and then the jungle | | | | into the music. |
| groove kicks in like the opening credit sequence of the | | | | |